


This Is (Not) Our Fairytale

by orphan_account



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-30
Updated: 2015-04-30
Packaged: 2018-03-26 11:18:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3848986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(The title is irrelevant.) </p>
<p>When Akashi was younger, he made a promise with his friend, Kuroko—that they would marry. But after a fire sweeps through the village, it appears that promise won’t be kept. …Or will it?</p>
            </blockquote>





	This Is (Not) Our Fairytale

_Knock, knock._

A six-year old Kuroko Tetsuya nervously fidgeted with his worn trousers as he waited for someone to answer the door. He was standing just outside a pristine white marble mansion. It was three stories tall, and the windows were all curtained with fine fabrics. The door Tetsuya was standing in front of was actually two doors, with their intricate designs merging to make it look like one, wide door. 

A maid opened the doors and looked around. “Must be those kids playing pranks again,” the strict-looking woman grumbled, about to close the doors again.

Panicking a little, Tetsuya stretched on his tiptoes. “Wait a moment, please!” He begged, and the maid jumped in surprise, her gray eyes widening. To her, it seemed that the small blue-haired boy had appeared out of nowhere. “May I please see Seijuurou-kun?” 

The maid frowned. She had never seen this boy before, and he was dressed in the rags that indicated he lived in the poorer parts of the village that rested in the shadow of the Akashi mansion’s hill. She felt a pang of sympathy at the sight of his soot-stained cheeks and bleeding fingertips, no doubt from hard work, but she couldn’t let a mere peasant into the house. 

“I’m sorry, but—”

“Tetsuya!” 

Just as she was about to turn the boy away, her young master came racing down the stairs and whooshed past her to tackle the stranger on the porch. The maid winced when she saw the poor blue-haired boy land on the hard porch with a thump, but she was too bewildered to do anything. 

“Seijuurou-kun, that hurt,” Tetsuya whined as he tried to get his redheaded friend to get off of him. Seijuurou reluctantly pulled back, apologies already pooling on the tip of his tongue, but Tetsuya just smiled and tapped his nose. “It’s fine. Don’t worry.”

Seijuurou brightened back up and scrambled off of Tetsuya so that he could sit up. Tetsuya did so slowly, wincing at his protesting back. He might have bruises in the morning, but that was okay. He smiled again at Seijuurou, but it faded when he noticed the way the maid was watching them. 

“Are you a friend of Seijuurou-sama’s?” She asked, finally coming to her senses. She sent a disapproving frown her master’s way. “You know that your father wouldn’t approve of you playing with one of the villagers.”

To her great surprise, Seijuurou huffed and crossed his small arms in an act of defiance. “I don’t care! Mother likes Tetsuya. And, anyway, Tetsuya and I are going to be together forever, and Father can’t change that no matter how hard he tries,” he said firmly, turning to the boy, Tetsuya, for reassurance. Tetsuya blinked like a deer caught in the path of hunters, but he eventually nodded slowly. “See?”

The maid was astonished. Seijuurou had never acted like this before. She cast Tetsuya a glance, curious. Was he really that special to Seijuurou? He didn’t look particularly special at first glance. Deciding to leave it alone since Lady Shiori apparently liked him, the maid bowed. “Forgive me, then, Seijuurou-sama. Don’t forget that your violin lessons are in an hour, though.”

“Alright.” 

The maid had left the doors open so that they could come inside after she left, but Seijuurou closed them and turned to Tetsuya with a wide smile. “I have something special for you,” the redhead announced, surprising his sky blue-haired friend. 

“Is that why you asked me to come?” Tetsuya asked, curious, as Seijuurou took him by the hands and tugged him along. Seijuurou was aware of his bleeding fingers and was gentle with them as he pulled him along. Tetsuya’s heart warmed. Seijuurou was always so nice to him. He wasn’t sure what he had done to deserve such a friend. Seijuurou sort of just… discovered him one day. 

“Yes, it is,” Seijuurou answered, rounding the bend of the path and heading toward the well-cared for gardens behind the house. He brought Tetsuya to a secluded part of the gardens, where there was a nice white arch leading into a circular area filled with beautiful flowers of all kinds. There was a stone bench and a small fountain in the clearing, and Seijuurou sat Tetsuya down on the bench. The blue-haired boy was in awe of the area, and he reached down beside the bench to touch some blooming butterfly milkweeds. They looked like orange stars. “You can pick some, if you want.”

Tetsuya was unsure, but Seijuurou nudged his shoulder, so he carefully picked a handful of flowers. He bunched them together and held them in his lap. Seijuurou smiled at him before remembering what he had brought him out here for. 

“Ah, right,” he mumbled, reaching into his pocket and producing a velvet box. Tetsuya stared in bewilderment as Seijuurou smiled and offered it to him. “Open it.” Noticing Tetsuya’s skeptical expression, he added, “Please.”

Well, Tetsuya couldn’t turn down anyone who said ‘please.’ He placed the flowers down, and he gingerly took the box, his fingers shaking a little as he slowly opened it. Seijuurou watched with eager eyes. Tetsuya gasped as he saw what was inside, and his cheeks immediately flushed. 

“I—Is this…” Tetsuya trailed off, staring at Seijuurou with wide, surprised eyes. The redhead grinned and pulled another box out of his pocket, opening it to reveal a matching item. 

The silver rings glinted in the sunlight. 

“It is,” Seijuurou nodded, taking both of the boxes and setting it on his lap so that he could take Tetsuya’s hands. The poor, blindsided blue-haired boy still didn’t seem to know what to make of the situation and stared back, wide-eyed. “Kuroko Tetsuya, when we get older, will you do me the honor of marrying me?” 

Tetsuya blinked several times. He was only six, for crying out loud. What was he supposed to do about a real proposal? Tetsuya knew Seijuurou, and he knew that he really meant what he was saying right now. He even had real rings. Wait, why did he have real rings? 

“Why do you have real rings?” Tetsuya voiced out loud, staring at the boxes. “And isn’t one supposed to be gold?” 

Seijuurou flushed up to his ears. An uncharacteristically awkward smile appeared on his lips as he confessed, “Yes, but I really like Tetsuya, and we’re both equals, I think, so I thought getting us both silver would be better. Oh, and Mother helped me get them. She really likes you. So…” He was hesitant, his lips pulling downward in a frown. “Will you say yes?”

Tetsuya stared at Seijuurou—Seijuurou, who was his first friend, who made his tummy do weird flips when he would smile, who treated him gently and would do nice things. Wasn’t his answer already obvious? 

Tetsuya smiled shyly. “Yes, of course,” he murmured, and Seijuurou’s whole face lit up. The redhead tackled him with a hug, laughing happily. Tetsuya laughed too, hugging him back. It was a silly, childish love, and a silly, childish engagement, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t absolutely precious to them. 

It was a promise.

* * *

 

Seijuurou blinked out of his daydream, wincing as the colorful scenery disappeared from his vision and was replaced by cold stone walls. He sighed, closing his fist around the silver ring hanging by a chain around his neck. He had long outgrown it, sixteen years old now, but he still kept it close to his heart, even if the boy he had made the promise with was… gone. 

Seijuurou grimaced, rubbing his eyes before he could begin to tear up. He sighed, straightening his back, and refocused his attention on the stacks of papers in front of him. It was his workload for the day. The sooner he got this over with, the sooner he could go to sleep and forget, just for a little while. 

Seijuurou’s residence was a stone tower that wasn’t extremely tall, but it was tall enough for him to not be able to escape out the window. He would climb down the walls, but they were too slick, and he had nothing to stab into the walls to keep his grip. The pointiest thing in his room was perhaps his quill, and surely you know how stabbing that into the wall would work out. 

A few hours passed, and Seijuurou was finishing off the papers when a knock sounded on his door. Because he only had three visitors ever (and one just being out of obligation to feed him and give him water and fresh clothes), he just lazily called, “Come in.” 

The green that caught the dying rays of sunlight affirmed who Seijuurou suspected was visiting him. “Midorima,” he greeted the bespectacled man. He still wondered how he had those when he was an orphan and couldn’t afford anything. Then again, he was always puzzling over how his friend procured his lucky items. Maybe he was a thief? Seijuurou wouldn’t know. He never left the tower, due to… reasons. 

Midorima adjusted his glasses, holding a glass figure in his left hand. Kerosuke, as Seijuurou had learned the name of the strange item. “Akashi,” he greeted back, sighing slightly. “I see you still haven’t left this place.”

Seijuurou cast him a wry smile as he gathered his finished workload in his arms and got up to transfer it from his desk to the table next to the door, where it awaited pick-up by his father at the end of the day. His father would not talk to him, though, of course. “I only leave to take a bath, with heavy guard outside the door,” he reminded his friend for what felt like the thousandth time. Midorima never could grasp why he was stuck here. 

Midorima sighed again. “It still doesn’t make sense,” he said, and this had been said many times before by him. Seijuurou settled down on his bed as he waited for the conversation he had heard hundreds of times continue. “All you wanted to do was try to help your friend, and now your father locked you up because of that?”

“Fiancé,” Seijuurou reminded him absentmindedly, rolling the silver ring in between his thumb and forefinger. Midorima flushed like he always did at that word. Seijuurou chuckled. Being betrothed at young ages was common, but for some reason, Midorima still became flustered at the topic. 

Midorima was right, though. When Seijuurou had been eight years old, shortly after his mother had died, the village below the hill was ablaze with fire. Seijuurou had cried, and he wanted to look for Tetsuya, but his father grabbed him by the shoulders and threw him into a carriage that would take them away from the fire. Seijuurou still remembered the words his father had spoken that wretched night. 

_“There is no chance of survival against such a blaze. Your friend is dead, Seijuurou.”_

Seijuurou clenched his fists. After that, his father had brought him to this place—a mansion with a stone tower. He locked Seijuurou in the tower, not believing Seijuurou when he promised he wouldn’t run away (Seijuurou hadn’t meant it, so he was technically right), and Seijuurou hadn’t been outside since. 

He didn’t know if Tetsuya survived, but word of the fire had reached even this place, and supposedly there had been no survivors. But Seijuurou refused to believe it. If Tetsuya had died, he would have felt something, he was sure of it. But he hadn’t. He was sure, somewhere, Tetsuya was still alive. And he needed to find him so badly, but he was stuck here, and he couldn’t do a damn thing about it. 

Midorima knew not to disturb Seijuurou when he had that expression on his face. After the redhead had managed to calm down just a little, Midorima cleared his throat and glanced down at the floorboards. “You know, Akashi, my offer to help you still stands,” he reminded him, making Seijuurou sigh.

Well, there was always that, he supposed. Midorima had offered to help him escape, but knowing the green-haired teen, he had never taken him up on that offer. Besides, he had no solid leads on Tetsuya. If he just went out blindly, he would end up dying before he found him. He had Midorima looking, but he never found anything. And Seijuurou stubbornly refused to give him a name, only his description to go off of. Seijuurou didn’t want him to go around asking for a Kuroko Tetsuya because if someone was holding him against his will, and word reached them, they might run. 

Seijuurou thought that Tetsuya being held against his will was the most likely thing that happened. Midorima said that he hadn’t seen him in any of the orphanages he had been in (and trust him, he had been in a lot), so someone else must have had Tetsuya. Maybe his parents survived, but Seijuurou was skeptical. The fire had been very bad, and officials said that there had been no survivors. A small child could escape their count, but adults? No, probably not. 

“It’s fine,” Seijuurou dismissed, and Midorima sighed. “Let’s talk about something else.”

For the next hour or so, they discussed town happenings. Midorima was his only link to the town, since he never visited it. Apparently, the town they lived near was quite the corrupt place, and three thuggish men named Hanamiya Makoto, Imayoshi Shouichi, and Haizaki Shougo ran the town. Sometimes Seijuurou was concerned for Midorima’s safety in such a place, but the green-haired man always dismissed his worries. Maybe he really was a thief. 

Soon enough, Midorima had to leave since Seijuurou’s father wouldn’t let his visitors stay too long, and Seijuurou was left alone again. Seijuurou sighed, lying down on his bed and staring at the ceiling. He had gotten some paint a few times, and he had painted butterfly milkweeds on his ceiling. Nostalgia filled his chest as he gazed at the orange flowers. Looking at them always reminded him of that day… 

“I’ll find you, Tetsuya,” he mumbled, closing his eyes as his fingers gripped his ring. “I promise.”

* * *

 

“Ugh, help me out, would you?” Midorima complained loudly to his supposed friends, Aomine Daiki, Kise Ryouta, and Murasakibara Atsushi. Aomine and Kise were bickering over whether to buy more meat or salad. Aomine wanted meat because, well, it was meat, and Kise wanted salad because it was healthy for them. 

“Your complexion is going to be awful if you don’t eat healthier!”

“Who the hell cares?! Give me my meat back!” 

Murasakibara, on the other hand, was too busy stuffing his face with snacks to care. _Glutton,_ Midorima thought bitterly as he slung the bag of heavy groceries over his shoulder. Looks like he had to do everything himself. They still needed bread, and the nice gold watch they had sold last night had provided them just enough money to cover that, too. Where had they gotten the watch? 

… The trash? 

Midorima coughed, getting ready to head over to the stand selling baked goods, but he paused when he heard a sudden high-pitched clatter, like something metal dropping on the gravel. All of his friends stopped what they were doing and perked up at the sound. They were all programmed to notice small sounds like that that indicated a potential steal, if they were quick enough before the original owner could get to the item. 

Midorima spun in a quick circle, vaguely aware of a soft voice attempting to protest something a ways off, and he completely forgot about it as he spotted a shiny silver ring on a thread nestled in the gravel. He dove for it, quickly snatching it up before anyone could see, and he returned to his friends’ side. They all leaned over eagerly, completely forgetting about what they were doing before. 

“What is it, what is it, Midorimacchi?” Kise asked, excited, bouncing up and down on his heels. “Can we sell it?”

“Just give me a minute, nanodayo!” Midorima snapped, opening his hand to reveal the pretty, well-kempt silver ring. Aomine whistled at the sight of it while Kise’s eyes lit up. Murasakibara remained relatively impassive, but there was a spark of interest in his eyes. Midorima frowned as he examined the ring. Why did he feel like he had seen this before? 

He froze when he saw the engraved letters on the inside. He blinked, hard, and rubbed his glasses on his sleeve, but no, the inscription was still the same. 

The letters _A. S. + K. T._ were clearly engraved in the metal. 

_Shit. This must be…  
_

* * *

 

“It’s a surprise that you’re back so early,” Seijuurou nonchalantly commented to Midorima as he turned around in his chair. He said it lightly, but he was still confused. Midorima didn’t usually visit more than once every few days. This was two days in a row. 

The green-haired teen fidgeted uncomfortably. “What’s the name of your fiancé?” He suddenly blurted out, making Seijuurou’s red eyes narrow in suspicion. 

“Why?” What had suddenly brought this on? 

“Just tell me!” Midorima burst out, but bit his lip when Seijuurou’s gaze turned icy. “At least give me his initials.” 

Seijuurou was completely on guard now, but giving Tetsuya’s initials to Midorima seemed harmless, so… “K and T in English,” he said, assuming that was what Midorima wanted. The bespectacled man’s eyes widened, and Seijuurou’s narrowed again. “Now, tell me why.”

Midorima reached into his pocket and fished something out. He took a few steps forward, not meeting Seijuurou’s gaze. Seijuurou dropped his stare to Midorima’s hand as he held it out to him, and the redhead raised an eyebrow. What was he doing? 

“Here. I found this on the streets in town.”

Midorima opened his fist. 

Seijuurou inhaled sharply when he saw the silver ring sitting on Midorima’s palm, a tattered, torn string threaded through it, and he snatched it away from the green-haired teen. With shaking hands, he held it up to examine it, and sure enough, the inscription inside the ring matched the one inside his own.

“You…” Seijuurou quickly reviewed what Midorima had said to him so far, and he clenched his fist around the ring. “Where?” He demanded, fire suddenly bursting to life in his red eyes. He shot to his feet and grabbed Midorima by the collar, and despite being much shorter than him, Midorima felt overwhelmed by the aura the redhead was emitting. “Tell me, right now!” 

“I—In the market!” Midorima stuttered, holding his hands up in surrender. Seijuurou huffed and let him go, but his commanding stare had him rooted in place. “I was out buying food with my friends, and I heard something dropping nearby. I found this in the gravel, so the person who dropped it must not have been far away.”

“Did you try to chase them?” 

“No, and even though I tried looking afterward, they were long gone.” When irritation flickered in Seijuurou’s expression, Midorima coughed and looked away. “… Sorry, Akashi.” 

Seijuurou released a long, heavy sigh. He shouldn’t be getting mad at Midorima. He was the one who brought him his first and only clue about Tetsuya’s whereabouts, after all. Seijuurou carefully took the worn thread off the ring and then slid his chain over his head, sliding Tetsuya’s ring onto it next to his. A small, musical clink was emitted as they slid into place. 

Seijuurou put on his chain again and then turned back to Midorima. There were theories whirling around in his head, but one thing was clear. 

“Help me get out of here. I don’t care what I have to do. Just… please, help me.” 

Midorima had never heard him beg before, and if Seijuurou had been in a better mood, he would have laughed at the incredulous expression on Midorima’s face. As it was, he patiently waited for Midorima’s answer. 

“Fine,” Midorima finally said, huffing as he shoved his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “But I’ll need to gather a few friends.” 

* * *

 

Seijuurou’s guests were normally checked before they could come up to the tower. He wondered how Midorima had gotten the silver ring through. His servants had probably thought it was insignificant. 

Little did they know, it would set in motion a series of events that would ultimately end in Seijuurou’s escape. 

“Akashi!” Midorima called from outside Seijuurou’s window. The redhead raised an eyebrow and walked over to his only window, and he nearly choked on his own spit when he saw how close some blond stranger was to his window. Seijuurou looked down, down, down… and saw what happened. A purple-haired giant was all the way at the bottom, seemingly having no problem with supporting three other people. Midorima was on the giant’s shoulders, standing, mind you, with knives embedded into the tower’s stone wall so he didn’t accidentally fall off. A blue-haired teen was next, also with knives embedded in the wall, and finally there was the blond, who just balanced on the blue-haired person’s shoulders. 

“Akashi-san, right?” The blond checked, and the redhead just nodded, dumbly. Their people tower was so tall that the blond was only a few feet below his window. “Wait, I wanna call you Akashicchi, actually. I think it’s pretty cool you’re trying to reunite with your childhood love,” he cooed, hearts in his eyes. Seijuurou had half a mind to slap him right off the tower, but he wasn’t that mean, and the blond was probably here to help him anyway. “My name’s Kise Ryouta, and—”

“Oi, Kise!” The tanned teen hollered from below him, his voice agitated. “Would you hurry up and give him the stuff? Murasakibara isn’t going to be able to hold us forever.” 

“Okay, okay!” The blond, Kise, complained, reaching up to Seijuurou. In his hands was a thick, long rope. “We can’t have you climbing down us, so take the rope. You can slide down, right?”

Seijuurou cast him a flat look as he took the rope. Kise shrugged. “Alright. Okay, Murasakibaracchi! Nice and easy!” Seijuurou watched as Murasakibara, presumably, slowly kneeled down, and then Midorima pulled his knives out of the wall and let Murasakibara help him into a sitting position on his shoulders. The process continued until all three were sitting on shoulders, and then Kise jumped off, the blue-haired teen following with a groan, and Midorima hissed as he climbed off Murasakibara’s shoulders. The purple-haired giant rolled his shoulders, massaging them. Seijuurou was impressed he could hold the full weight of three people by himself. 

Seijuurou slid his chair under the doorknob to stall whoever came to check on him longer, and he slung the bag he had packed over his shoulder. He looped the rope around the metal bar sticking out over the window. He had never been sure what its purpose was. After making sure it would hold, Seijuurou swung over the windowsill and rappelled down the side of the tower. 

“Huh, not bad,” the tanned teen muttered as Seijuurou landed on the grass, letting the rope go. Seijuurou relished the feeling of the squishy grass under his boot-clad feet. He hadn’t walked outside eight years. 

“Just because I’ve been locked up doesn’t mean that I haven’t been exercising,” Seijuurou shot back, readjusting his bag’s position. He looked over them, and reality hit him in the face. He was really free. He didn’t have to go back. He didn’t have any obligations that he cared about. Besides, his father had been looking for a suitable wife for him for a while now, and Seijuurou shuddered to think what would happen if he found one. There was only one person he wanted to marry. 

He was never going back. 

Seijuurou smiled, a rare sight for him, and Midorima blanched at the sight of it. Ignoring him, he took the lead and walked toward the town in the distance.

“Let’s go. On the way, we’ll talk.”

* * *

 

Seijuurou learned the full names of the other two he didn’t know. Aomine Daiki was the short-tempered teen with the dark blue hair, and Murasakibara Atsushi was the lazy purple-haired giant. All three of Midorima’s friends were willing to help him look for Tetsuya, and when Seijuurou warned them that he wouldn’t pay him, they were still willing to help, though Aomine seemed clearly more reluctant. 

After Seijuurou had told them the story, Kise was wiping his eyes as he cried big crocodile tears. “Poor Akashicchi,” he whimpered, and Seijuurou sighed in amusement when Midorima whacked him on the shoulder. “Ow! Midorimacchi is so mean!” 

“Stop crying! We’re trying to figure out if his friend is alive, remember!” Midorima snapped, making Kise sniff and nod. After all, Tetsuya’s ring could have fallen into someone else’s hands, but Seijuurou knew better. The string that the ring had been on was the same thread that Tetsuya’s clothes were made out of. Tetsuya must have lost it by accident at the market, which meant he could be nearby. 

“What’s his name anyway?” Aomine asked, lazily, as he looked up at the fluffy white clouds floating across the clear blue sky. Seijuurou inhaled a breath of clean, fresh air as they stepped onto the path leading into the town. It didn’t look as bad as Seijuurou had thought a crooked town would look. There were kids running around and adults working hard… 

“Kuroko Tetsuya.” This time, Seijuurou would give them his name. At least he could supervise who they mentioned that name to. 

Aomine stopped. “Kuroko Tetsuya?” He repeated, and the expression in his eyes vaguely resembled… recognition. Seijuurou paused, his shoulders tensing. Did Aomine know Tetsuya? “Kinda small for a guy, light blue hair, dark blue eyes?”

It was a miracle Seijuurou didn’t slam Aomine into the nearest building. He just clenched his jaw, and nodded. “Do you know Tetsuya?” He asked, voice low, dangerous. Had the answer to all his questions just been one friend away? 

Aomine rubbed the back of his neck, eyes darkening. The others just watched their exchange, tense. “Well, a little; I’ve talked to him a few times, but… Tetsu’s not in a really good situation right now.” 

Seijuurou didn’t know what to make of that, so he said the only he could. 

“Take me to him. Now.” 

* * *

 

“Are you mad?” Midorima hissed to them as they crouched outside a mansion just outside the town. Seijuurou had seen it from his tower before, but he had never been interested in it. “ _This_ is where Kuroko is?” 

Kise fidgeted uncomfortably, golden eyes peering at the closed, curtained windows of the house. “I have to agree. He’s at Shougo-kun and the others house? If he’s here, surely…” He trailed off when Seijuurou cast him a glare. 

On the way over, Seijuurou had gotten a full explanation. Hanamiya, Imayoshi, and Haizaki were the lowest of the low, and they were all cruel people. They ran the town because everyone greatly feared them, and they had servants who did everything for them. Resistance was met with violent retaliation. The village had some soldiers to protect it, but not even they dared to stand up to these three. 

Seijuurou was scared. No, he was not afraid of these three despicable people; he was scared for Tetsuya. Had he been stuck here for the past eight years? Aomine had explained to him that he met Tetsuya just a few months back, when he was out getting groceries for the trio. Tetsuya was one of the servants of theirs, but it was more accurate to say he was a slave. Apparently, he did most of the servants’ work because he was too weak to fight back against them. 

Seijuurou’s first thought had been to charge in and slaughter everyone, but even he had to agree with Midorima when the bespectacled man pointed out that would be unwise. 

Now, they were hiding in the bushes near the fence surrounding the house, waiting for Tetsuya to show up. Aomine had apparently developed some sort of signal for Tetsuya; he would wave a white handkerchief in the air twice to signal for him to come out. It had to be at certain times of the day, too. Tetsuya would find some meager task to do in the yard, and would secretly meet up with Aomine at the fence. They were discreet enough to be able to pull this off, it seemed. 

Finally, the door opened, and Seijuurou’s breath hitched as Tetsuya stepped out of the house. He was dressed in tattered, dirty clothes—a blue shirt and black pants—and his shoes needed to be mended, but he still walked on. His blue hair was messy and stained with soot, and his dark blue eyes seemed lifeless, but Seijuurou thought he saw some of the life seep back into them as he looked around the fence. 

Seijuurou’s heart pounded in his chest as he approached the fence. “Aomine-kun?” He whispered, looking down and busying himself with tidying up some of the flowers in the flower bed. Seijuurou felt a jolt of warmth run through him when he saw Tetsuya’s fingers linger on a familiar orange flower—butterfly milkweeds. He remembered. 

“Yeah, but I’ve got someone here to see you,” Aomine whispered, grabbing Seijuurou and shoving him in front of him so that Tetsuya could see him. “I think you know him pretty well.”

Tetsuya looked up at him as he appeared in the gap between the bushes, and his eyes widened in shock. Seijuurou leaned in close to the fence, irritated that this _decoration_ was keeping him away from Tetsuya, but he would have to deal with it. 

“Tetsuya,” Seijuurou whispered, reaching through the fence to touch his fiancé’s bruised cheek. He felt a flare of anger at the bruises on his skin, but he couldn’t focus on that now. “Do you remember me?” 

Tears started to pool in Tetsuya’s eyes as he jerked toward the fence, clumsily snaking his arms through to awkwardly hug Seijuurou. The redhead didn’t mind and reached through to hug him back. He was vaguely aware of Kise sobbing behind him. 

“Of course I remember you, Seijuurou-kun,” he whispered, a strangled sob caught in his throat. “I was so afraid—I thought that maybe you hadn’t made it out before the fire reached your house—they always told me that there were no survivors—I was _so scared…_ ” 

“Shh,” Seijuurou murmured, but he felt tears pricking his eyes, too. “You gave me a really big fright, too, you know? I was scared that you had died in that fire. Don’t ever worry me like that again.” 

Tetsuya sniffed, but he nodded a little. “But…” Guilt seeped into his voice, and Seijuurou pulled back to stare at him, questioning. Tetsuya looked away, retracting one of his arms to wipe at his face. “I’m so sorry. Haizaki-san pulled me, and I must have dropped it…” He dropped his gaze to the ground, clenching his fist in frustration. “I lost your ring… I’m so sorry…” 

Seijuurou blinked. _Ah, so that’s how it is._ He chuckled a little, surprising Tetsuya. He reached into his shirt and pulled out his chain, revealing both rings. Tetsuya’s eyes widened. “What…” He stared, stunned, as Seijuurou held both of them out for him to examine. 

“We’re lucky, actually. My friend, Midorima, found your ring and brought it to me. Then, he introduced me to Aomine, who recognized your name. That’s how I ended up here,” he explained, watching as Tetsuya examined both rings as if to make sure they were both okay. 

“Thank goodness,” Tetsuya sighed, relieved. “I was afraid I had lost it. Can you please keep it? I don’t want to lose it again.” Seijuurou nodded, and Tetsuya smiled at him. Seijuurou’s heart thumped. He had missed that smile. “I have to go back before anyone suspects anything, but please, come back soon.”

“I’ll do more than that. I’ll get you out of here,” Seijuurou promised. When Tetsuya’s eyes widened in surprise, his gaze turned serious. “I mean it, Tetsuya. I won’t let you spend another day here.”

“But… Hanamiya-san, Imayoshi-san, and Haizaki-san are so scary,” Tetsuya shivered, rubbing one of the bruises on his arms. Seijuurou’s eyes darkened at the sight of it. “Even if your friends helped, it would be hard to get away. Even now, if you tried to take me, they would realize soon enough and catch up, unless you had a very fast carriage or fleet of horses.” 

Aomine and the others had already explained that to him. That was why he was already thinking of a plan. “I know. I’ll figure something out. I’ll be back as soon as possible, okay?” Tetsuya nodded hesitantly, and Seijuurou placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. Tetsuya blushed, and Seijuurou smiled fondly. “Stay safe.”

“Okay,” Tetsuya mumbled, watching them go with longing in his heart. 

_Will I get to be a part of that soon enough?_

* * *

 

“So, what’s your plan?” Aomine asked as they took shelter in an empty building. Apparently, it was their hideout. Seijuurou was sitting on a crate filled with fresh fruit, and it crossed his mind that it was probably stolen, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. 

Aomine seemed more invested in helping Seijuurou since he knew Tetsuya. The redhead supposed that was a good thing. Kise was already emotionally invested (which was maybe not a good thing, because he hadn’t stopped crying since he and Tetsuya had reunited), Midorima had known him for years, so he would help him, and Murasakibara had somewhat taken to him and followed whatever he said. 

All in all, Seijuurou was glad that these were the people that were helping him free Tetsuya. 

“I can’t risk going back to the mansion, so stealing some of my father’s horses and carriages is not an option,” Seijuurou noted, somewhat disappointed. He wondered how Yukimaru was doing. He didn’t even have the opportunity to see his dear horse anymore. He would have enjoyed a chance to stick it to his father, but he couldn’t risk being captured before he rescued Tetsuya. “Are there any good horses or carriages we can borrow or buy around here?” 

The four multi-colored teens sitting in front of Seijuurou exchanged glances. The redhead raised an eyebrow. “Well? Don’t keep me in suspense,” Seijuurou ordered, crossing his arms. 

“There’s this guy,” Aomine finally started, scratching his head. “His name’s Kagami. He’s a merchant who goes back and forth from here to some rich, distant town every three days. On Thursdays, he takes a break and stays in his house overnight, leaving his carriage outside. It’s not gonna have anything in it, but the carriage is in good shape and can fit all of us. I’m assuming we’re never coming back, right?”

All of them turned to Seijuurou expectantly. The redhead sighed, smiling a little. “Of course not. We’re running far, far away. If we’re taking something, we’re not returning it. That’s fine with me.” 

Aomine looked satisfied. “Good. As for the horses, we’ve got a guy that sells them. Guess we’ll need about four horses to pull us, so… There are these two nice black stallions and two white mares that’ll do. He hasn’t sold them yet, and he keeps all four at the beginning of his stables. You’ll know them right away. They’re nice horses, so as long as you don’t spook them, they’ll come with us and pull us.” 

Seijuurou smiled, nodding. He was glad that they were all quite competent. At first glance, one might be a bit unsure, but they seemed capable. 

“Oh, and one more thing,” Aomine said before Seijuurou could start assigning tasks. The redhead glanced back at him and noted that he looked serious. “If I’m gonna help you, I want something in return.”

Well, he supposed that was only fair. They were expecting a fight when they went to get Tetsuya. If Aomine was going to risk his life, it was only fair he got something in return. Seijuurou nodded. “Alright. What is it that you wish to have?” He asked, tilting his head. Aomine shifted, just a bit uncomfortable under Seijuurou’s scrutinizing gaze.

“I don’t want something physical. I want you to let me bring my friend, Momoi Satsuki, along. She’s got her uses, but she can’t fight,” he added, crossing his arms. Seijuurou’s interest was piqued. He just wanted him to let a girl come with them? 

All the others seemed to straighten at Momoi’s name, though. “Yeah, we can’t leave Momoicchi behind!” Kise argued, nodding vigorously. “She’s our friend!”

“Momoi is quite smart,” Midorima sniffed. 

“Sa-chin is really nice~” Murasakibara commented, nodding along to what the others said. 

Well, it looked like the others all wanted her to come along, too. Seijuurou shrugged. He wasn’t going to refuse to let them take their friend with them, especially if she was a girl. The town wasn’t as bad as he thought, but it was still dangerous. They couldn’t just leave her behind. 

“Yes, she can come,” he answered, and all four of them relaxed a little. Seijuurou smirked. “Now, as for our plan, here’s how it’ll go…” 

* * *

 

It was finally the night of their big getaway. 

They had secured the carriage and the horses. Momoi, a pink-haired, well-endowed girl as Seijuurou had learned, was staying in the carriage to take care of the horses, and she would bring the carriage to Hanamiya and the others’ house if someone spotted her. If not, then she would wait just out of sight of the mansion, waiting for them out of harm’s way. They couldn’t afford to have the carriage in sight, lest Hanamiya or the others try to damage it or Momoi or the horses. They were only willing to risk it if Momoi was already in trouble. 

They had already informed Tetsuya, and he was to meet them outside at 2000 sharp. All five of the colorful-haired teens were armed with daggers or swords, or brass knuckles in Murasakibara’s case or a bow and arrows in Midorima’s case. 

Their supplies that would last them for at least a couple weeks were stolen and stowed away in the carriage with Momoi. Seijuurou had gotten used to stealing in the past few days, and he had to admit, it was fun and he was good at it. 

Seijuurou twirled his sword in his hand. Even if Hanamiya, Imayoshi, and Haizaki were all older than them, he wasn’t going to lose. Not now, when he was so close to having everything he could ever want. 

Finally, the clock struck 2000, and as promised, Tetsuya slipped out of the door. There was a locked gate near the side of the fence, and they had already picked the lock, so Seijuurou swung it open as he and the others cautiously set foot in the yard. 

Halfway across the yard, something jumped out of the shadows and grabbed Tetsuya. Time slowed down. 

The figure was a man in his mid-twenties, with horrendously thick eyebrows and an awful smile as he brought his sword up to Tetsuya’s throat, which he was gripping with his other hand. Tetsuya’s eyes flitted toward Seijuurou, fear flashing into them, and that spurred Seijuurou into action. 

Hanamiya, Seijuurou presumed, was still bringing his sword to Tetsuya’s throat when Seijuurou suddenly appeared in front of him. Hanamiya’s eyes were just beginning to widen from shock when Seijuurou, with a flick of his wrist, disarmed him. His sword went flying over Seijuurou’s head and landed in the grass somewhere behind him. 

As soon as the sword cleared his head, Seijuurou was redirecting his sword toward Hanamiya’s side, and in the black-haired man’s shock, he let Tetsuya go and hastily dodged. Seijuurou stopped his sword mere centimeters from Tetsuya’s side, not even flinching because everything went according to his plan, right down to his sword stopping three centimeters from Tetsuya’s side. He was somewhat pleased that Tetsuya didn’t flinch, either, because he trusted him; the wide-eyed look on his face was probably more out of shock that he had managed to defeat Hanamiya in a matter of seconds. 

“Come here,” Seijuurou commanded, grabbing Tetsuya and dragging him into his side. The blue-haired boy let out a yelp of surprise, but he grabbed onto Seijuurou’s clothes as soon as he was close enough. Seijuurou kept his sword pointing at Hanamiya, his red eyes narrowed in anger. Hanamiya gulped. It might have been his imagination, but it looked like one of the redhead’s eyes flashed golden in the moonlight. 

“Are you okay?” Seijuurou asked, never taking his eyes off Hanamiya. He was aware that Aomine was fighting a glasses-wearing man off to the side—Imayoshi, probably. On his left, Kise was fighting the last person, who was probably Haizaki. Murasakibara was fending off a handful of the trio’s loyal lackeys, and Midorima was firing arrow after arrow at anyone who threatened any of their blind spots. 

“I—I’m okay,” Tetsuya shakily answered, which did nothing to reassure Seijuurou. But they didn’t have time for concern, or anything like that. 

“Run,” Seijuurou murmured, tilting his head down so that no one else would hear. “There’s a carriage around the corner with a pink-haired girl in it. That’s Momoi. Stay with her until we get back.” 

Tetsuya tried to protest. “No, Seijuurou-kun—”

“Go!” Seijuurou commanded, pushing Tetsuya away from him. He couldn’t make sure he had left the yard because it was at that moment a servant gave Hanamiya another sword, and the black-haired man came charging at him again. Seijuurou lifted his sword to block and then began pushing against the other man, their blades scraping together. Hanamiya grunted. 

“Not bad for a brat,” he spat in his face, and Seijuurou granted him a sadistic grin, a wild gleam in his eyes as he lifted a leg and kicked Hanamiya in the gut. “Ugh!” He stumbled backward, their blades sliding apart with an ear-splitting shriek. Seijuurou didn’t even flinch, and sensing the presence on his left flank, spun around and stabbed forward, making a servant yelp and just barely avoid getting impaled through the head. 

Nevertheless, the stupid, stupid man came back with shaking arms and a terrible form with his sword, and Seijuurou scoffed as he easily disarmed him and then struck him with the flat of his blade, knocking him out. He was about to run over to help Aomine finish off Imayoshi even though the blue-haired man seemed to be doing just fine on his own, but something slashed into his side, making him stumble and turn. 

Hanamiya was bearing down on him with a crazed grin on his face. “I’m going to tear you apart, you damn brat!” He shouted, his sword rapidly approaching to split Seijuurou in half. The redhead knew he didn’t have enough time to block and tried to swerve to the side to at least minimize the damage—but the blade never reached him. 

A shadow appeared out of nowhere, a blade that used to be Hanamiya’s held in its hands, and blocked the hit. Seijuurou’s eyes widened when he caught a glimpse of sky blue hair. 

_Tetsuya?_

“No,” Tetsuya ground out as he struggled to shove the sword back at Hanamiya, who stared at his slave— _former slave_ —with wide eyes. “Don’t you even _think_ about touching Seijuurou-kun.” With that, he finally shoved the sword back at Hanamiya, and just as fluidly as Seijuurou had just a few minutes ago, disarmed the black-haired man. Tetsuya angled the sword downward as he spun around and roundhouse kicked Hanamiya in the head, instantly knocking him out. 

Tetsuya was breathing heavily, but he whirled around to stare at Seijuurou with wide, worried blue eyes. “Are you okay?” He demanded, and Seijuurou final remembered, oh yeah, he was bleeding, wasn’t he? Seijuurou glanced down at his side. The cut wasn’t deep nor shallow, and the redhead deemed that he would be fine for at least a few more minutes. After that, he would need treatment. 

“I’m fine,” Seijuurou replied, breathless, and Tetsuya’s shoulders slumped in relief. He had half a mind to be angry and tell him that he shouldn’t have come back, but Tetsuya had quite possibly just saved his life and definitely saved his arm, so he decided not to bring it up. “Where did you learn to fight like that?” He asked, amazed. That was impressive. As always, Tetsuya exceeded Seijuurou’s expectations. 

Tetsuya blushed at the amazement in Seijuurou’s voice. “Ah… I can see the fields where the soldiers train from my window,” he confessed, shuffling his feet. “So sometimes, when I’m bored, I copy them with my brooms or something.”

Seijuurou smiled in fond amusement. _Only Tetsuya._ “I see,” was all he said as he turned back to the yard-turned-battlefield. Kise had already knocked out Haizaki, and Aomine had finished off Imayoshi, too. ( _Not finished off,_ finished off, but just knocked out.) Murasakibara and Midorima had taken care of all the servants. Seijuurou was about to take a step forward when pain flared up his side, and he paused, trying to steady his suddenly weak legs. 

“Seijuurou-kun?” Tetsuya asked worriedly as he walked over to Seijuurou’s good side. He abandoned his weapon in favor of supporting Seijuurou. “You’re not fine,” he pointed out, annoyed, as he helped him over to Midorima. 

“Sorry.” He wasn’t sorry, and Tetsuya knew that because he groaned under his breath. Seijuurou just smiled at him, sheathing his sword. 

Midorima examined his side when they reached him. “You’ll be fine,” he finally said, making Tetsuya sigh in relief and Seijuurou roll his eyes. He already knew that. “I’ll patch you up in the carriage. Let’s hurry and get out of here.”

All six of them hurried to the carriage, where Momoi was. “You’re all okay!” She cried in relief when they appeared, and Aomine grumbled as she hugged him tightly while still holding onto the horse’s reigns. “Ah, but Akashi-kun!” She gasped when she saw the blood soaking through the redhead’s clothes. Murasakibara had to help him up. 

“I’ll be alright,” Seijuurou reassured her with a smile as he settled into the side of the carriage. The carriage was just big enough to fit all of them and their supplies. Seijuurou was sitting against the crates in the back, and Midorima sat on his injured side as he applied disinfectant, making Seijuurou wince. Tetsuya was on his other side, hugging his arm and watching Midorima, worry clear in his eyes. Aomine had taken over Momoi’s position, making the horses go as fast as they could as they made their great escape. Kise and Momoi were huddled together, Momoi disinfecting a cut Kise had gotten, with the blond yelping every so often. Murasakibara was lazily rubbing some of the bruises he had gotten, but he was otherwise uninjured. Aomine had some bruises too, but he didn’t have any other injuries besides that. Midorima, sort of obviously, also had no injuries. 

Tetsuya had a quickly darkening bruise around his throat, but when Seijuurou asked about it, he assured him that he was fine. Tetsuya kept casting worried glances at Midorima as he stitched up Seijuurou’s side. He only relaxed when Midorima was done and had bandaged his side. Even though the sewing hurt like hell, Seijuurou didn’t utter one complaint as Midorima patched him up. 

Seijuurou gazed out at the starry night sky. The moon was full and seemed to be smiling at them as they swiftly bounced down the rugged path leading away from town. The redhead let out a quiet chuckle, leaning back against the crates. 

“Seijuurou-kun?” Tetsuya asked softly, his grip tightening on him. He refused to let him go, not that Seijuurou minded. After nearly dying and after not seeing Tetsuya for eight years, he wasn’t too keen on letting the blue-haired boy get too far from his sight either. 

Seijuurou wrapped his arms around Tetsuya, ignoring the twinge of pain in his side from the action. “I’m just happy that we’re all here, together,” he murmured, making Tetsuya sigh. 

“I am, too,” he mumbled, burying his face in his chest. He started when he felt something cold slip around his neck. He pulled back and tilted his chin down, and his eyes widened when he saw his ring on a chain. 

“I got another chain for your ring,” Seijuurou explained. Sure enough, his own ring was still on a chain around his neck. “You’ll still marry me, right?” His tone was joking, but Tetsuya still saw the worry in his eyes. Realizing something else, the blue-haired boy blushed, but he steeled himself and leaned upward, giving Seijuurou a quick, chaste kiss. It was an abrupt first kiss, but a first nonetheless. 

Seijuurou stared down at Tetsuya with wide eyes, and both of them desperately tried to ignore the cat-calls and wolf-whistles their friends were making. Momoi fainted, mumbling something about ‘BL.’ 

“Does that answer your question?” Tetsuya mumbled, a heavy blush still on his cheeks. 

Seijuurou smiled so widely that he thought his face would split in half. He leaned down to kiss Tetsuya, and this kiss was longer and maybe just a tad bit sweeter. When they finally broke apart (having made a newly awakened Momoi faint again), Seijuurou whispered against Tetsuya’s lips, “I’ll get us new rings. I’ll buy them, legitimately. We’ll keep these, but we’ll wear our new rings, and we’ll get married. And all of us, every single one of us,” he paused to look at the others in the carriage, who stopped laughing when he mentioned them. He cast them a fleeting, small smile. 

“All of us will be a family.” 

Half the people there would deny tearing up or outright crying because none of them had ever had a true family, and it had been years since Seijuurou or Tetsuya had had one, but they all did end up crying. But they were together, and they would never be alone again, and that was what really mattered. 

Tetsuya buried his face in Seijuurou’s chest again, shoulders shaking with sobs. Happy sobs, this time. 

“I’d really like that.”

_The end._

**Author's Note:**

> This is dedicated to the lovely Yami (Oyakorodesu on tumblr), as it is her birthday on the 30! 
> 
> I don’t even know what to add I’m so tired, been typing for hours. 
> 
> Well, this one takes place in somewhat medieval times I guess? But for the story’s sake, let’s say that Akashi and Kuroko really can get married. So they do, and they live with everyone else as one big happy family and yeah.
> 
> Kagami said, “Where the f*** did my carriage go?!” When he woke up in the morning. The person who sold horses (*cough*Hyuuga*cough*) was just as upset about his horses and swore. A lot.
> 
> (Sorry guys.)
> 
> The action scene probably wasn’t that great, but I’m just so tired asdfg I tried, really. I hope you guys liked this. Thanks for reading and bearing with my icky writing.


End file.
